Stop & Shop Donates 1,000 Turkeys to Fulfill's People's Pantry

(From left to right) Stefanie Shuman - Community Relations Manager, Mike Franz - District Director, Tom McCormack – Store Manager Stop & Shop Toms River (Route 37), Mandy Koski – Stop & Shop Regional Vice President, James Gallagher – Store Manager Stop & Shop Toms River (Lakewood Road) hold turkeys donated as part of Stop & Shop’s Turkey Express Program to Meet Unprecedented Need for Holiday Assistance in Ocean County.

Stop & Shop’s Turkey Express program donated 1,000 Thanksgiving Turkeys to Fulfill's People's Pantry during a drive through and walkup distribution program. Residents in need received the fixings to accompany the holiday meal at the People’s Food Pantry located in Toms River.

• Fulfill has seen a 40% increase in the demand for food since the start of the pandemic.
• Feeding America estimates the number of New Jersey residents struggling to put food on the table will climb to 56 percent within the coming months; the number of food-insecure children is expected to grow even more, by 75 percent.
• Pre-pandemic, Fulfill's People's Pantry was feeding 136,000 people throughout Monmouth and Ocean Counties, including 50,000 children. Today, Fulfill is feeding 215,000 people, including 70,000 children.
• Fulfill has served 2.7 million more meals this year than the same period last year.
• The cost of food has gone up exponentially since the start of the pandemic. A year ago, Fulfill's People's Pantry paid $22,000 for a tractor trailer load of canned vegetables. Today, Fulfill's People's Pantry is paying $69,000.

Stop & Shop’s Turkey Express program will deliver more than 21,500 turkeys to hunger relief organizations in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island this holiday season.